In Honor of the Apricot (and the ONE who made it)

Once upon a time there was a beautiful apricot that came to be in a place of great beauty.
Life was good in that lovely place, and it was there that this little, beautiful fruit (that held the promise of perfection) grew from blossom-hood to maturity--beneath the usually sunny sky under the loving and watchful eyes of its caring farm family.
Before long, the once green baby fruit grew into the orange perfection one would expect from its kind, with just a bit of a rosy blush where the summer sun had kissed its skin.

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- And when the little fruit had grown up, the time came for it to leave its apricot-hood home and fulfill its purpose.
(All the wonderful plan of the ONE who had, in the beginning, created the apricot and had given it a very noble and good purpose. The same ONE who had sent the sunshine and rains that had nourished this beautiful fruit all of its life so it could go out and fulfill its God given purpose.)

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So one summer day in July very loving hands picked that very same fruit of goodness and perfection, and tenderly placed it into a box with many others of its kind.
And off it went, with some other boxes filled with orangey perfection, to a new place where it would bring great happiness, joy and nourishment to the one who would eat it.

And it did.

And this was good.

Blessings,

Aimee

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Further info:

In this link you'll find a great photo of

2 beautiful apricots.

This photo even won picture of the day:)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apricots.jpg

Wikipedia article re: apricots here too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot

A Summer Day in the Garden

I didn't spend a lot of time in the garden today.

It was hot, though cooler then yesterday, and I had some indoor tasks to take care of -mainly getting 1 huge box of fresh apricots preserved.

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Well the morning passed and the afternoon begun and still the apricots weren't done or even started

(I think I was afraid of the what seemed to be an immense task and of course there was that temptor AKA 'the Internet').

-.

But a promise to a hubby is a promise,

so finally this afternoon I tackled them and ...

after some major quality time with

a whole lotta apricots, 2 1/2 bags of raw sugar and some orange honey, a bit of ascorbic acid and a few utensils, I ended up with about 30 cups of apricot goodness enjoying the chilled environment of my freezer space.

Lucky apricots!

BTW--

I would have ended up with more, but I ate at least a week's worth of vitamin A cleverly disguised in apricot form while I was sitting there slicing them. I figured I might run out of freezer bags and...

they were SO good I couldn't help it!

Really, all my willpower went out the window.

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When my friend arrived later in the day to assist me with what was left of the beautiful ones,

I had to beg her to help me control my sudden 'unwonted' attack of apricot gluttony.

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She tried but I still managed to sneak some into my mouth--

such was my wicked desire for more of them.

It's a good thing she arrived when she did...

I would probably still be eating them and there would be a lot less in my freezer right now.

Thank God for good friends:)

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And now some recent garden photos..

Fresh, juicy strawberries for the picking.

Funny--after so many apricots today these only look a little good.

BUT. I'm sure, once my apricot fullness wears off they will look majorly good:)

These are probably Albions -- planted this spring.

I know this is considered a "noxious weed",

but I think Queen's Anne Lace is SO pretty.

I was actually happy to find some by our bridge:)

Of course if it takes over the garden I may not be so pleased--

after all it just isn't found in any Japanese garden books that I have seen.

Yet.

Some of our fish enjoying a summer shower--a totally man-made one

(well technically woman-made) unfortunately it was not quite as good as the God-given ones since we're still enjoying unseasonably dry and hot weather here but they do look happy, don't they?

I know I am not minding getting caught under the sprinkler lately either.

Wisteria.

Today when I was checking the soaker hose,

I saw the sunlight playing upon the top of this vine.

Pretty I think but beware...wisterias are not as tame as they look!

Ours likes to spread everywhere...like even under our house.

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Well tomorrow I am making another trip &

right now an amazing sunset has lit up the whole western sky so...

Blessings,

Aimee

This Day I Will Be Glad

The PNW heat wave continues with Seattle beating its old record yesterday and Portland not quite tying theirs. Ugh. The joy (and pain) of high humidity and really hot temperatures…. makes me have a new found empathy for those who live in areas that 'enjoy' such weather all summer long; also makes me--a delicate PNW’er--look forward to soon being again in our more normal 70-80’s summer temperature range. Really soon I hope:)

But, even with the less then comfortable weather conditions, I am reminded that this is--indeed--a day the Lord has made--and I will CHOOSE to rejoice and be glad for it for that is what He wants me to do. And honestly, with all the blessings He sends my way, how can I not be filled with gladness?

Blessings from the somewhat cooler PNW,
Aimee
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“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity…Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.“

Psalms 118:24-25, 28-29 KJV

Remember When...

Mountains were covered with snow and wildflowers laid dormant under a thick, white frozen blanket?

Moss had an icy frosting on it and spearmint was just an inch or so high?

Raindrops danced merrily upon the planks of wooden decks?

Fog and clouds laid upon mountain peaks and dwelt among the trees there?

And apples wore hats of snow while robins gathered nearby?

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV

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Summer blessings everyone-stay cool!

Aimee

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Photos:

Paradise area, Mt Rainier in May

(well known for its summer wildflowers)

NW native moss & spearmint in February

(spearmint is much, much taller now and the orange mint has blossoms)

Deck during rain showers

(much drier now and loaded with plants needing watering)

Columbia River Gorge area

(actually this was taken recently but it looks this way in more autumn like/wintry weather too)

Apples during winter

(no apples on our heirloom apple trees this year but the Liberty apples are just about the right size now; still green though)